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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · dip · lean · stick · shower · capital · spell · fan

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — to sink
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — to wash
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spell — a short time
  13. lean — thin
  14. spell — magic
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wax — to grow
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com